GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Following a historic 99-53 win against UIC on Feb. 2,
the mood surrounding the Green Bay women's basketball team couldn't have been
much brighter. The team had just won its 12th-straight game, had scored the
most points in a game in more than seven years and would be playing four of the next five games at home.

But
for freshman Brionna Barnett
(Elkhart, Ind.), the win was overshadowed by news she had received just an hour
prior to the game. Her grandfather-and biggest fan-had passed away after a lengthy
battle with cancer.

"He
was sick on and off for the past couple of years and it just got bad enough
that he couldn't take it anymore. I was heartbroken, I felt like it wasn't
real, and it still doesn't feel real," Barnett said.

As
a true freshman, Barnett started her collegiate career off strong, tallying eight
points in the first two games this season. From there she saw limited action
until a 71-44 win against Wright State on Jan. 12, when she played 14 minutes
and drained a three-gaining praise from her biggest fan.

"He
made it to a couple games this year and never missed any of my sporting
events," Barnett said. "It was awesome-he always told me 'good game' even if I
didn't play or didn't play well and he was always there to cheer me on."

After
the win against UIC, Barnett spent time in her home state of Indiana with her
family. While going through one of the toughest experiences of her life, she
cited her teammates and the Green Bay coaching staff for helping keep her spirits
high.

"Brionna
is a great player and always works extremely hard in practice," head coach Kevin Borseth said after a recent game.
"To go through something like that is never easy for anyone, but she's done a
great job of working through it and staying positive."

Barnett
didn't appear in the win against UIC or at Loyola the following week, but
returned to the court in the win against Milwaukee on Feb. 9, playing two
minutes. Just five days later, she would have the best game to date of her
collegiate career.

When
she checked in against Cleveland State in the second half on Feb. 14, there was
just over 14 minutes left on the clock and the Phoenix had a 46-27 lead. Thanks
to an incredible day from the field, she helped turned what had started as a
close game into a 37-point victory.

"It
was one of those games where I knew my team had confidence in me," Barnett
said. "They knew what was going on in my life, but to come out there that night
and be able to have the game my teammates and I had was truly a blessing."

She
struck first with a pull-up jumper in the lane before hitting three consecutive
shots from behind the arc, helping Green Bay push its lead to more than 30
points. With less than three minutes to go, she completely faked out her
defender on a crossover dribble and scored her final points of the night on an
18-footer. After entering the game with 11 career points and two triples on the
year, the jump shot gave her a grand total of 13 points on 5-6 shooting with a
3-4 mark from long range that night.

To
make her performance even more special Barnett carried the memory of her grandfather
with her during her career outing, with the nickname she had given him,
"PawPaw", and a heart written on the back of her shoe.

"Every
day I wear a necklace he gave me, and I wanted to write his nickname on the back
of my shoe because of how much he meant and how much he'll always mean to me,"
Barnett said. "I'm always thinking about him, and now every game I play is for
him."

For
Barnett, the rest of the season will be spent trying to continue to improve
herself and her teammates as the Phoenix works towards a 15th-straight regular
season Horizon League Championship. Whether it's in a game, in practice or in
the classroom, she'll be using the memory of her biggest fan as motivation to
be the best person she can be both on and off the court.

"My
teammates have really helped me think of the good times I had with him and
reminded me of how lucky I was to have him," Barnett said. "This team is like a
family, and they've helped me realize that at the end of the day you shouldn't
complain about the little things-because family is what's really important in
life."

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